Advertising-lighting for dirigible balloons.



G. L. BUIVIBAUGH.

ADVERTISING LIGHTING FOR DIRIGIBLE BALLOONS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, 19:4.

1 9 1L @3, Q? Patented June 22, 1915.

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GEORGE I. BAUGH, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR 01F ONE-HALF T0 ALBERT L. WATTERS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

.VER'JEISING-LIGHTING FOR DIRIGIBLE BALLOONS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

Application filed October 5, 1914. Serial No. 865,033.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Gnonen L. BUMBAUGH a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Advertising-Lighting for Dirigible Balloons, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide for using balloons for advertising purposes, and particularly dirigible balloons; and further to provide for progressive formation of the advertising sign. In accomplishing this object, I make a desired sign on the lower part of the supporting gas bag, preferably on each side thereof if the gas bag be of the elongated shape commonly used in dirigible balloons, andmount a light or a series of lights on the car, preferably on arms projecting from the side thereof, for illuminating the sign, and also provide shades which can be shifted to cut off the rays of light from the lamp or lamps or to allow such rays to strike the sign in a progressive manner to cause the progressive lighting of the sign.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective'view of a dirigible balloon embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a partial transverse vertical sectional view through the gas bag and frame of such balloon; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4: is a detail of part of the operating mechanism for the shades.

The gas bag 10, shown as elongated, supports by netting 11 a suitable frame 12, which may carry any suitable mechanism. The frame 12 is also elongated, and is provided along each side with a series of laterally projecting arms 13, the arms on the two sides being opposite each other. The arms 13 at their ends are provided with lamps 14,

which are conveniently mounted in reflectors 15 which direct the light from the lamps upward toward the under side of the gas bag 10, to illuminate such under side of the gas bag on the two sides thereof. Along these illuminated portions of the gas bag there may be placed any desired sign, as by painting it on the gas bag, the word ][n dlanapolis being used in Fig. 1 to represent such sign.

Each reflector 15 is providedwith a shade 16, the two shades 16 for each pair of opposite reflectors 15 being carried on opposite ends of a slender shaft 17 on the frame 12 and extending outward along two opposite arms 13. The shafts 17 are provided at or near their centers with pocketed pulleys or sprocket wheels 19, the pockets of which may receive buttons 20 on an endless cord 21 which extends over on the pulleys or sprockets 19 and over two end sprockets 22. By moving the cord 21, the buttons 20 thereon cause the sprockets 19 to turn and thereby cause the shades 16 to be moved to cut off or to allow the free passage of the light of the associated lamps 14. The several shafts 16 may be arranged in any desired manner relative to each other, but are preferably so arranged that the rays of light from their associated lamps are caused to produce a progressive lighting up of the sign, each lamp ordinarily illuminating only a part of the sign.

The lamps 14 may be of any desired character, but are most conveniently electrical lamps, which maybe supplied from any suitable source of current carried by the balloon. There may be any number of these lamps, according to the length of the gas bag, a single lamp, usually located centrally, suflicing in some instances, the movement of the reflector or reflectors associated with the lamp or lamps admitting or cutting ofl rays from it or them to the different parts of the sign successively and thus controlling the area of the gas bag surface which is illuminated.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a balloon, the combination of a gas bag, a frame supported thereby, one or more lamps carried by said frame and'illuminating the under side of the gas bag, and one or more shades cotiperating with said lamp or lamps and movable relatively thereto to control the area of gas-bag surface illuminated.

2. In a balloon, the combination of an elongated gas bag, a frame supported by and beneath such gas bag, laterally projecting arms from said frame, lamps carried by said arms and provided with reflectors for directing the light therefrom toward the gas bag, and shades cooperating with said reflectors for controlling the area of gas-bag surface illuminated.

3. In a balloon, the combination of an elongated gas bag, a frame supported by and beneath such gas bag, laterally projecting arms from said frame, lamps carried by said arms and provided with reflectors for directing the light therefrom toward the gas bag, shafts extending outward along said arms, shades carried by said shafts and cooperating with said reflectors to control the area of gas-bag surface illuminated, and a common means for operating all said shafts.

4. In a balloon, the combination of an elongated gas bag, a frame supported by and beneath such gas bag, laterally project ing arms from said frame, lamps carried by GEORGE L. BUMBAUGH.

Witnesses:

FRANK A. FAHLE, LOUISE BENNETT. 

